The Four Pre-Life Thresholds Of Complexity

The main pre-life events that preceded the complexities characterized by the life aspect of the universe can be summarized into four main historic events. These historical events include the big bang, emergence of stars, chemical elements formation and the formation of the planets. These cumulative events prepared the stage for the beginning of life forms. Complexity thresholds before life began with the appearance of the empty universe which was suddenly formed. After the universe, a series of other complexities represent various events that contributed to the build-up of the stages that gave the life forms the stage in which they would thrive and progress to complex life forms. The inanimate universe as discussed by Christian (15) has events such as the origin of the universe from some action of nature.

According to the author, theories such as the big bang fail to explain where life forms came from after the formation of the universe. Hydrogen and helium were the building blocks of another complex event from their fusion which gave existence to physical complex sequence of events. From the newly formed mass of universe, galaxies were formed in the initial stages of the complexities. Galaxies forming into constellations of groups, clusters and super-clusters were established after the cooling of the universe. The stars are foundation of the other complexities as they are today. Gravitational force pulling together the stars in an orderly pattern facilitated the next complexity of a converging arrangement (Bryson, 16). Formation of the earth and other planets ushered in the life phase that began with simple life forms which progressed to put a higher and complex arrangement.

Threshold 1 is the first in the order which is the beginning of events preceding life, when the universe formed through the generally accepted mode that took place 13 million years ago as explained in the Big Bang theory (Christian, xv). The theory states that there was a lot of heat that caused the surrounding which was very dense to rapidly expand like an explosion. The expansion still continues to date, creating space for the universe to come into existence state it is today (Bryson, 18). Threshold 2 has emergence of stars and the galaxies which formed from the cooling reaction of the expanding universe after the rapid Big Bang expansion (Christian, 41). The stars formed into groups that gave rise to galaxies. Threshold 3 consists of chemical elements formation stage from whose reactions energy was obtained to form materials necessary for life (Brown, 12). Molecular arrangement of the formed elements paved way for the formation of materials to the surface of the formed universe, enabling the setting of the stage for vey complex chemical phase of the universe. Elements such as carbon and other radioactive elements were disintegrated to give rise to more elements that are an important part of the universe. Threshold 4 constitutes the planet forming phase from which the earth and other planets were formed. Life supporting planet earth progressed with the complexity that life involves, which makes up the fifth threshold.

Each of the above thresholds is important in the study of the big history, which entails the study of everything that the universe is composed of today. The analysis of the events that the thresholds entail gives the picture of where the universe originated from as well as the processes that it is subjected to. Through such studies, the study of humanity is given a clearer picture from which an understanding of the environmental impacts that life is exposed to becomes well documented. By understanding the processes that the universe is exposed to, these studies facilitate the human exploration of the universe to understand the importance of such processes on human life. According to Brown (65), studying these events could facilitate unravelling the current pressing global challenges such as climate change and global warming. According to the author, the human population must realign itself to the challenges of these hazardous processes on the planet and the universe in order to adapt to changing conditions of life. Without such adaptations, human beings, animal as well other life forms are at a serious risk of mass extinction. Understanding the human life complexities under the environmental conditions would perhaps be an important stage to facilitate research to accommodate hazardous outcomes of changes in the universe such in dealing with disease outbreaks (Brown, 70).

Regarding the reasons why we need to know about the history of everything, it is probably the most important platform where all disciplines of studies can be conglomerated to formulate a comfortable earth. This arises from the revelations that the various related studies such as cosmology and geology, human beings can take charge of the developments in the universe and save the planet.

Works Cited

Brown, Cynthia Strokes Big history: from the Big Bang to the present. New York, NY: New Press, 2007/ Print

Bryson, Bill A short history of nearly everything. New York, NY: Broadway Books, 2003. Print

Christian, David Maps of time: an introduction to big history. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2005. Print